Kilo Lingo

Line drawing of trajto
Coloured illustration of trajto
#1785 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

trait, characteristic; feature (of the face)

Word origin

From French trait, from Latin tractus, the past participle of trahere ('to draw, to pull'). A trait is a line drawn, which is why the same word does duty for a feature of a face and a feature of a character.

Origin
French
Root
tractus
English cognates
trait, tract, portray, retract

Examples

.

Patience is her best trait.

.

I do not remember the features of his face.

.

That characteristic is common to all cats.

Two senses, and they are worth keeping apart. A of a person is a characteristic, something in the character: . The of a face are its features, the lines of it, which is the older and more literal reading of a word that means "a drawn line". Karaktero is the whole disposition; a is one strand of it.

and trajno are not related in any way you can use. Both are borrowed roots that happen to begin traj-, and neither contains a piece the other does. Very far back they do share the Latin trahere, "to draw", since a train is a thing drawn along and a trait is a line drawn, but that is etymology for its own sake: in Esperanto they are two unanalysable roots and knowing one tells you nothing about the other.

Where this fits

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Esperanto · Free printables

trajto: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Esperanto word "trajto" (trait, characteristic; feature (of the face)): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 36.